123Chess_Game3
The CHESS Analysis Method (7-Steps)
CLOCK & CODE (Step 1)
HEAD & HAT (Steps 2 & 3)
ED & ANA (Steps 4 & 5)
SELECT & STUDY (Step 6)
SECURE KEY TAKEAWAYS (Step 7)
CLOCK &CODE:
- CLOCK & CODE: During Gameplay - Create a CODE legend for you to write down and identify the critical moments of the game, including the moves that took the most time on your CLOCK.
Tip 1: You can use numbers, letters, symbols, or anything else you can think of.
Tip 2: This process works best if you play a live (non-correspondence) game with at least 10min on your clock.
Examples:
- When felt Disoriented
- Confused
- Comfortable
- Uncomfortable
- Stuck
- When you overlooked something
- When you had a positive "eureka" moment
(The code legend I created for myself is “SCOUTE.”)
S = I feel Stuck
C = I feel Comfortable
O = I Overlooked a position or tactic
U = I feel Uncomfortable
T = This was a Time consuming move
E = Eureka! I discovered something good!
HEAD & HAT: - HEAD: Immediately after the Game - Write down what went through your HEAD throughout the game such as what you were feeling, the reasons for your decisions, the plans you had, and calculations you performed.
Tip 1: Expound on your In-game CODE
Tip 2: Be specific
(This PGN below include both of these steps 1 and 2 within the annotative comments.)
- HAT: Immediately after the Game - After finishing the above, write down at least 3 key lessons you've learned from this game that you can add to your HAT of knowledge.
Warning: No outside sources! Just your own thoughts and conclusions so far!
(Here are mine.)
1. MENTAL TRANSITION AFTER OPENING KNOWLEDGE: I need to be especially careful to assess the board including position and tactical possibilities once I enter unknown territory in the Opening (i.e. after I run out of moves I know in the Opening). If I had taken more time to do this on move 8, it could have prevented me from performing the primary move in this game that I regretted, which was 8…d5.
2. UNSURE WHEN TO OPEN UP A FILE: I have trouble knowing when it’s okay to open a file up and when it’s not. After 16. Kh1, I asked myself if I should take the f-pawn with my Queen. The conclusion I came to was no. However, after looked at it more thoroughly, it appears that after 17. f4, his pawn storm became quite dangerous regarding the potential to both trap my light-square Bishop and advance his f and e pawns further - significantly cramping my position on the kingside. Fortunately neither happened in this game, but if he moved e6 on move 19 instead of Kh2, I would have been in serious trouble.
3. ASSESSING IF AN OPTION TO CAPITALIZE ON A WEAKNESS IS WISE: After 20. g4, I see that I could have moved 20…Qf2+ before retreating my Bishop. But was this a wise option? What would this have accomplished for me? Perhaps this could have given me attacking potential earlier on in the game? What criteria would help me determine if this was a wise option?
4. GETTING MINOR PIECES ON ACTIVE SQUARES: The fundamental principle of getting your minor pieces out there and active on logical squares is integral to opening up tactical possibilities. This proved true for me instantly after move 22…Ne5.
ED & ANA: - ED: Immediately after the Game - EDUCATE on the critical moments of the game. These include any major changes that took place.
Internal critical moment examples:
- Ran out of known moves
- Moves that surprised you
- Change in plans
- Overlooked a situation
- When you found yourself "lost" or stuck
External critical moment examples:
- Phase Transition
- Draw-ish Endgame --> Lost one
- Massive trade of pieces
- Major pawn configuration change
- Quiet game into Tactical storm
(Here's what I chose.)
4…Nf6 - This was the moment when I had to make the decision of which line I would play against the Scotch Game Accepted. I was pretty certain that 4…Nf6 and Bc5 were my 2 primary options, and I don’t feel comfortable leaving my Bishop undefended (since I’m not too familiar with this opening yet), so I went with the safe move Nf6.
8. Bd3 - This was the first moment in the game that I had no idea what to do. I had finally entered unfamiliar territory for me regarding this opening. I was all on my own, and the move I chose (8…d5) led me into a very uncomfortable position (each feeling more concerning than the previous), revolving around my fear of how this e-file conflict would end up for me once he had a Rook on e1 and the lesser concern of not wanting him to gain a pawn after all was said and done, or leave me with 2 isolated doubled pawns on the c-file.
11. Re1 - This moment was perhaps the most challenging moment of the game for me. My fear that had been building from my poor choice of 8…d5 move had reached its peak, and now I was staring at it head on. All of my threats had either fizzled away or left his pieces with stronger and better-defended positions than that of mine.
17. f4 - It was in this moment that I realized that this game had now evolved into white making an all-out kingside assault against me. I chose not to take his f-pawn the move before, and I was now witnessing my kingside space and safe squares for my light-square bishop being being eliminated. It was at this moment that my mindset shifted to one of defense.
19…fxe5 - I believe this was the move that turned the tide from white having the advantage to black having the advantage, because white’s pawn storm had failed to capitalize on my kingside weaknesses, and I had snatched the e-pawn in the last moment I had a chance to do so.
20. g4 - I didn’t see it during the game, but once he advanced the g4 pawn here, should I have done 20…Qf2+ before retreating my Bishop? Would this have increased my attacking potential and positional advantage that I believe had just turned in my favor the move before?
21. f5 - Now that his kingside pawns had all advanced, exposing his King, this was the moment in which my mindset shifted from defense to offense. It was now the moment when I would have to figure out how to capitalize on my perceived positional advantage with his King wide open.
22…Ne5 - This was the moment when I discovered my first solid tactic - a check with a fork on Nf3+. And while I didn’t see this tactic until I moved my Knight to e5, it flowed from my following of the principle of improving the position of one of my passive pieces.
26. Kh4 - This was the moment where I realized that I should have more closely calculated what things would be like after I moved 25…Qg1+, because I realized my move now seemed unproductive and didn’t help me at all.
29…a5 - This was the moment when I shifted my mindset toward initiating a Queenside attack, now that I could see that all his threats were silenced on the Kingside, and I still couldn’t see any obvious threats I could create on that side.
This video below is a review based on our completion of steps 1-4.
- ANA: After the Game - Pick at least 2 or 3 of the critical moments you identified above, and now ANALYZE them. Warning: Before you analyze, run your moments by an equal or higher level player!
(Here are my 4 critical moments that I chose to analyze.)
7. Bd2
12. Na4
16. Kh1
20. g4
This PGN below includes my finalized analyses for these 4 critical moments within the annotative comments.
SELECT & STUDY: - SELECT & STUDY: After the Game - SELECT an opening theory, positional pattern, or tactical element to STUDY it by learning from an expert sources.
Examples of types of sources:
- Reading instructional Books
- Watching instructional Videos
- Reading relevant Articles
- Looking up relevant Master Games
- Submitting your game online for a Game Review
Warning: Finish this step and THEN check your findings against a chess engine!
(Below is what I did for this step.)
1. I watched a few instructional Youtube videos about the Scotch Variation of the Four Knights Opening (which is what this Game 3 transposed into) to get a better understanding of it.
2. I reviewed some Grandmaster games of the Opening variation we played.
3. I worked on a lot of tactic puzzles to help me improve my calculation accuracy.
4. I double-checked my game against a chess engine to make sure I caught all my blunders and mistakes.
6. Tom and I both memorized the same GM game of Oliver Koeller (Rating = 2209, Germany) vs. Frank Roeberg (Rating = 2250, Germany), because it was one of the games in the chess.com GM database most similar to our opening in this game. Below is this game.
SECURE KEY TAKEAWAYS: - SECURE KEY TAKEAWAYS: Conclusion - SECURE and write down any final KEY TAKEAWAYS that are principles you can take into your future chess games, based on what you have learned from your analysis of this one. Write down at least 2 or 3.
(Below is what I did for this step.)
1. OPENING THEORY: Responding to the Scotch Variation of the Four Knights Opening - Two simple principles to keep in mind regarding this variation is that castling and breaking up the center should be black's 2 most immediate priorities. And if white's dark-square Bishop is developed before his light-square Bishop, it makes sense to castle before playing d5, since it gives you an extra tempo on black's kingside development.
2. PUNISHING BLUNDERS: When you notice your opponent has blundered, punish it right away. You may only have a 1-move window to punish it before it's too late! If you don't capitalize on it while you have the chance (i.e. if you allow them to blunder without directly addressing it), your position may become worse off than if they hadn't blundered at all.
3. ORDER OF OPERATIONS: It's important to carefully calculate your move order rather than simply following your initial gut reaction. Rather than the obvious move, is there another that is better to play first? If you have multiple threats to deal with, which one should be addressed first? If you have multiple attack plans, which one should be played first? The more I look at master-level games, the more I find that move order is paramount in higher level chess.
4. POSITIONAL/TACTICAL CHANGES IN RESPONSE TO THREATS: Before attacking a piece, look at what options they have to respond to the threat. If your threat chases their piece to a better square than it was in before the threat (or forces their piece onto a better square via a piece exchange), the threat may not have been wise. The same applies to your opponents threats against your pieces.
Finally, this video below is based on our completion of steps 5-7.
